Mark Farrar is to step down as principal of Reepham High School & College (RHSC). He will take on a part-time role in leading the Synergy Multi-Academy Trust of six local, rural schools. Tim Gibbs will become the school’s headteacher in August.
Writing in the latest issue of RHSC Review, Mr Farrar (pictured) said: “I have been very lucky as I could not have wished for a more talented, enthusiastic, hardworking and supportive group of colleagues.
"They have created a culture in which pupils are valued, cared for and managed with fairness and good humour. This culture has, in turn, helped provide an environment in which excellent teaching is the norm and pupils are cheerful and well behaved.”
Mr Farrar reflected on how schools have changed since he began teaching in 1981. “There were no computers and no whiteboards, let alone interactive ones with projectors. Teachers wrote on blackboards with chalk,” he said. “There was one video player in the school which had to be booked two weeks in advance.
“Despite all this, the differences between then and now are not nearly as great as you might imagine. Certainly, there are some big changes in the paraphernalia of teaching, but the fundamentals remain exactly the same.
“Pupils are taught in groups of 20 to 30. A teacher explains an idea or two; asks challenging questions; pupils discuss the concepts and write about them or use them to solve problems.
“A teacher does this well, not because they have computers, the internet and attractive textbooks (don’t get me wrong, all of these help), but because they are enthusiastic, good humoured, cheerful, can motivate and manage teenagers and understand how to make them think and learn.”